Tag: karin slaughter

“Good writers know that crime is an entre into telling a greater story about character. Good crime writing holds up a mirror to the readers and reflects in a darker light the world in which they live.”

I just finished reading this and I absolutely loved it! I could barely stop to catch a breath – I just simply had to keep reading, had to know the ending.

If you haven’t done so already, please check it out! Here’s a summary of the book:

Sisters. Strangers. Survivors.

More than twenty years ago, Claire and Lydia’s teenaged sister Julia vanished without a trace. The two women have not spoken since, and now their lives could not be more different. Claire is the glamorous trophy wife of an Atlanta millionaire. Lydia, a single mother, dates an ex-con and struggles to make ends meet. But neither has recovered from the horror and heartbreak of their shared loss—a devastating wound that’s cruelly ripped open when Claire’s husband is killed.

The disappearance of a teenage girl and the murder of a middle-aged man, almost a quarter-century apart: what could connect them? Forming a wary truce, the surviving sisters look to the past to find the truth, unearthing the secrets that destroyed their family all those years ago . . . and uncovering the possibility of redemption, and revenge, where they least expect it.

Powerful, poignant, and utterly gripping, packed with indelible characters and unforgettable twists, Pretty Girls is a masterful thriller from one of the finest suspense writers working today.

“Good writers know that crime is an entre into telling a greater story about character. Good crime writing holds up a mirror to the readers and reflects in a darker light the world in which they live.”

I have just come across this email exchange between Karin Slaughter and Lee Child, talking about the writing life and specifics on writing thrillers. Having read books by both these authors, I loved reading about their exchange in opinions and hearing about the writing of their books.

If you’re interested on reading the exchange too, follow this link for the full exchange that was uploaded to Karin Slaughter’s website a few years back.

I have decided to compile a list of psychological suspense writers that I absolutely LOVE and that I want to recommend to you.

So here goes:

Starting off as my very favourite writer, we have Lisa Gardner.

I cannot emphasise enough how her plot twists still surprise me, even though I have read so many of her books. Crash and Burn had me on the edge of my seat, constantly thinking I knew what was going on, just to find out that I was completely wrong. I also love how complex the main characters are. Though Lisa Gardner writes series featuring specific detectives, they take on a less significant role than the protagonists.

My two favourites so far were her last two books Crash and Burn and Find Her. Here’s just a small taste of Crash and Burn (taken from Amazon):

Nicole Frank shouldn’t have survived the car accident, much less the crawl up the steep ravine. One thought allows her to defy the odds and flag down help—she must save Vero.If the girl even exists.

Arriving at the scene, Sergeant Wyatt Foster joins the desperate hunt for a missing child, only to learn that Nicky suffers from a rare brain injury that causes delusions. According to her husband, there is no child. Never has been. And yet Nicky remains adamant. She must save Vero. Please, help save Vero.

For Wyatt and investigator Tessa Leoni, nothing about this case is simple. It turns out, Nicky has recently suffered more than one close accident. Is she indeed delusional, as her husband claims, or perhaps she knows more than she thinks? Because clearly someone out there won’t rest till Nicky crashes and burns….

Now, if that hasn’t gotten you itching to read some psychological suspense, the next author on my list is Lisa Jackson.

Similar to Lisa Gardner, Lisa Jackson is also a master of suspense and plot twists, usually throwing in a bit of romance as well.

Currently, I am reading Shiver and I recently finished After She’s Gone, If Only She Knew and Cold-Blooded. Though I would love to tell you about what just happened in Shiver, I hate to steal the element of surprise away from any potential readers. All I’m going to say now is, I didn’t see it coming who would be murdered!

Of course I haven’t just compiled a list of only two writers – I have put the other ones in a list however, since there are so many great ones out there!

The following are must-reads for psychological suspense and thriller fans:

Tess Gerritsen

Tami Hoag

Harlan Coben

Karin Slaughter

David Baldacci

Lee Child

Jo Nesbø

Iris Johansen

Linda Fairstein

Michael Connelly

Mary Higgins Clark

Raymond Khoury

Joseph Finder

Jeffery Deaver

John Sandford

Dennis Lehane

Though I haven’t read all of these yet, because I only recently found them, I also want to highly recommend the anthologies by International Thriller Writers.

I finished reading Face Off a couple of days ago and I must say, the short stories were amazing! Each author was paired off with another to write a short thriller story featuring both their main characters. It’s not only a way to read about your favourite characters finally meeting one another, but also to get o know new authors. I certainly got to know a lot of new ones!

A sequel to Face Off will be published on June 13th, 2017, called Match Up. I’m already super excited!

Similar anthology concepts by ITW include Thriller, Thriller 2 and First Thrills. Other publications are listed here.

That’s it for now. I hope you enjoy the recommendations! If anyone has any others, please comment below. I would be more than happy to learn about more great writers out there I haven’t heard of yet!